Bush Touts Plans to Help Teachers At Teacher Education Conference

President Bush last week seized the opportunity of a White House
conference to promote his plans to expand a college-loan-forgiveness
program for teachers and set up a federal tax-deduction plan to repay
those who have spent their own money on school supplies.

He highlighted the proposed policies, which are tucked into the
administration's federal budget plan for fiscal 2003, at what was
billed as a summit on teacher education, hosted by first lady Laura
Bush. The goal of the March 5 event was to bring together educators and
those who prepare them, public-policy organizations, business leaders,
and foundations to discuss ways of improving teacher education
programs.

"We're expecting a lot from our teachers," Mr. Bush said, referring
to the "No Child Left Behind" Act of 2001, which he signed into law in
January. The reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act, in part, overhauled the preparation, recruitment, and induction of
the nation's teachers. ("States Gear Up for New Federal
Law," Jan. 16, 2002.)

"We expect them to know their subjects," the president said. "We
want new teachers to be able to pass rigorous examinations so as to not
only earn the confidence of parents and administrators, but to increase
the professionalism of a very important field."

The recruitment and retention of talented individuals is paramount
and can be hastened by embellishing a current loan- forgiveness plan
for those who dedicate their lives to the profession, Mr. Bush said in
a speech in Eden Prairie, Minn., the day before the White House
gathering. Under the budget proposal for the fiscal year that starts
Oct. 1, educators who agreed to teach mathematics, science, or special
education would receive a maximum of $17,500 in forgiveness of federal
student loans. Such jobs are particularly hard to staff.

Other details of the president's plan have yet to be pounded out,
according to Kevin Bishop, a spokesman for Rep. Lindsey O. Graham,
R-S.C., who is expected to introduce a bill on the measure over the
next few weeks.

Database Partnership

The conference here, which drew a who's who of members of Congress
and big thinkers and players in the world of education—with one
notable exception—served as a primer on the history of teacher
preparation and the issues of certification and professional
development. It also showcased successful alternative
teacher-preparation programs, but ultimately did not suggest new
solutions to the problems in the profession.

President Bush touched on such issues, however, and followed up on
his loan-forgiveness proposal with a plan to allow teachers to deduct
the money they spend on school supplies from their federal taxes.

Teachers "now spend $400 out of their pockets to pay for supplies,"
the president said. "If a business person can deduct a meal, a teacher
ought to be able to deduct the cost of pencils or a Big Chief
tablet."

Such privileges are not currently available to teachers under
federal tax law, according to the White House.

Mr. Bush also announced a partnership between the Department of
Education and the American Federation of Teachers to set up a national
databank of research on reading instruction that will be accessible to
educators.

The program, which will be financed by a federal grant, will grow
out of an AFT effort already in place, said Alex Wohl, a spokesman for
the union. Further details were unavailable.

Such information is critical to instruction, said Mrs. Bush, a
former elementary school teacher and school librarian. Without it,
teachers may not be using the most effective tools to help their
students learn, she said.

Despite the applause that greeted the president's speech at the
White House session, some in the education community were quick to
criticize his budget plans.

"The ink is barely dry on the new law, and already the federal
budget shirks commitments made to high standards and student
achievement," Bob Chase, the president of the National Education
Association, said in a statement. His organization was not invited to
the summit on teacher preparation.

The union contends that while Mr. Bush touts $4 billion is
authorized in the ESEA to improve teacher quality, the actual amount
available in his budget proposal for such endeavors is $2.85 billion,
said Rebecca Fleischauer, an NEA spokeswoman. That means the president
hopes only to maintain current funding levels, which do not keep pace
with inflation and increased enrollment, she said.

The president also has proposed cutting funding for several critical
teacher-quality programs including one that teaches educators to use
technology, she said.

Calls to the White House about the NEA's criticisms were not
returned.

Read a complete transcript
of President Bush's remarks at the White House conference on "Preparing
Tomorrow's Teachers," March 5, 2002. Also from the White House, see an
outline
of the Bush administration's teacher quality plan.

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